Irene+Campbell

On August 9, 1927, Irene T. Campbell, nee O'Connor, died in the Chicago office of Dr. Herman Webber from an abortion performed there that day. She was a 33-year-old homemaker, wife of Robert Campbell.

Webber had also been implicated in the1920 abortion death of 24-year-old Rose Lieberman.

At the time of the 1920 census, Irene and her husband were living with her parents, John J. and Bertha (Shuttz) O'Connor of Queenstown, Ireland, and Chicago, Illinois, respectively, along with Irene's brothers John, William, and James.

Webber was arrested on August 9, and on September 1 he was indicted for felony murder.

Irene's abortion was typical of illegal abortions in that it was [|performed by a physician]. Keep in mind that things that things we take for granted, like antibiotics and blood banks, were still in the future. For more about abortion in this era, see [|Abortion in the 1920s].

 For more on pre-legalization abortion, see[|The Bad Old Days of Abortion] Source:


 * [|Homicide in Chicago Interactive]

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